Physico-chemical principles of the action of admixtures with various cements and concretes

Eight paper directly concerned with the theme of Section II and two others primarily devoted to other themes but nevertheless of interest in relation to the subject of Section II have been studied for this report and the following account is the reporter's summary of their contents. The majority of the papers can be regarded as research papers dealing with the effects of additives on the phase composition of hardening cement water pastes and on the kinetics of the reactions which occur soon after mixing the cement and water. Of the remainder, one paper is devoted to a general survey of accelerators and retarders, one discusses the differing physico-chemical action of additives which act as air entrainment agents or increase the fluidity of cement pastes, and two describe the effects on the properties of hardened cement paste when additives have been used.     

Influence of commercial and residual sorbents and silicates as additives on the stabilisation/solidification of organic and inorganic industrial waste

An environmental problem of the foundry activities is the management of industrial waste generated in different processes. The foundry sludge from gas wet cleaning treatment that contains organic and inorganic compounds and a high content of water is an interesting example. Due to their characteristics, they can be managed using different stabilisation/solidification (S/S) technologies prior to land disposal. The purpose of this work is to study S/S formulations in order to improve the control of the mobility of the pollutants and the ecotoxicity of the samples. Different mixtures of cement or lime as binders and additives (foundry sand, silica fume, sodium silicate, silicic acid, activated carbon and black carbon) have been used in order to reduce the mobility of the chemical and ecotoxicological regulated parameters and to compare the results for commercial and residual additives. The best results have been obtained with sorbents (activated carbon and black carbon) or sodium silicate. The results of the foundry sand ash as additive can conclude that it can be used as replacement in the cement products. However, silica fume in the samples with lime and siliceous resin sand as additives gives products that do not fulfil the regulated limits. Finally, some linear expressions between the chemical parameters and the quantity of material used in the samples have been obtained.     

Freeze–thaw performance of base course treated with carboxylated styrene–butadiene emulsion–Portland cement

Freeze–thaw (FT) cycles and moisture susceptibility are important factors influencing the geotechnical characteristics of soil–aggregates. Given the lack of published information on the behaviour of base course materials stabilised with styrene butadiene emulsions (SBE) and cement–SBE-treated base (CSBETB) under environmental conditions, especially freezing and thawing, this study investigated the effects of these additives on the CSBETB performance. The primary goal was to evaluate the resistance of CSBETB to moisture damage by performing FT, Marshall conditioning and AASHTO T-283 tests and to evaluate the long-term stripping susceptibility of CSBETB while also predicting the liquid antistripping additives to assess the mixture’s durability and workability. Specimens were stabilised with Portland cement, SBE and a Portland cement–SBE mixture and cured for 7 days, and their short- and long-term performances were studied. Test evaluation results show that the additions of additives increase the resistance of the mixtures to moisture damage. Results of durability tests performed for determining the resistance of compacted specimens to repeated FT cycles indicate that the specimen with the 4% cement–8% SBE mixture significantly improves water absorption, volume changes and weight losses. This indicates the effectiveness of this additive as a road base stabiliser with excellent engineering properties.     

Spatially resolved self-sensing of strain and damage in carbon fiber cement

Spatially resolved self-sensing of strain and damage has been shown in carbon fiber cement under flexure by three-point bending. This involves measurement of the one-dimensional distribution of the DC electrical resistance by the use of surface electrical contacts on the bottom (tension) and top (compression) surfaces. For a span of 290 mm, a spatial resolution of 5 mm has been attained. The bottom surface resistance, which increases reversibly with strain and increases irreversibly with damage, is a more effective indicator of strain and damage (in combination) than the top surface resistance, the oblique resistance or the through-thickness resistance for spatially resolved self-sensing. For sensing without spatial resolution, the oblique resistance is the most effective indicator. For sensing with distinction between strain and damage, the top surface resistance is the most effective indicator.     

A study on reinforcement corrosion and related properties of plain and blended cement concretes under different curing conditions

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the steel reinforcement corrosion, electrical resistivity, and compressive strength of concretes. Concretes having two different water–cement ratios (0.65 and 0.45) and two different cement contents (300 and 400 kg/m³) were produced by using a plain and four different blended portland cements. Concrete specimens were subjected to three different curing procedures (uncontrolled, controlled, and wet curing). The effect of using plain or blended cements on the resistance of concrete against damage caused by corrosion of the embedded reinforcement has been investigated using an accelerated impressed voltage setup. The resistivity of the cover concrete has been measured non-destructively by placing electrodes on concrete surface. The compressive strength, electrical resistivity, and corrosion resistance of the concretes were determined at different ages up to 180 days. The results of the tests indicated that the wet curing was essential to achieve higher strength and durability characteristics for both plain and especially blended cement concretes. The concretes, which received inadequate (uncontrolled) curing, exhibited poor performance in terms of strength and corrosion resistance.     

Effect of polypropylene fibre reinforced mortars on steel reinforcement corrosion induced by carbonation

Low amounts of polypropylene fibres are added to concrete as a secondary reinforcement to control cracking. Whether this addition might improve the corrosion resistance of the concrete reinforcement by increasing the resistance to carbonation, via reducing penetrating paths, is the subject addressed in the present paper. Crack control by the fibres in plastic state mortars and crack evolution with time have been studied. Furthermore, the influence of crack width on the steel bar corrosion induced by carbonation has also been monitored. Circular specimens made of mortar have been employed in the experimental phase of the study, using a water/cement ratio of 0.50 and cement/sand ratio of 2/1. The polypropylene fibre content was 0% and 0.5% by volume. Low modulus polypropylene fibres may control the crack width in specimens subjected to inadequate curing conditions. No relationship between crack width and time for corrosion initiation has been observed. However, a beneficial effect of fibre addition on the corrosion rate was found.     

Hydrophobic and water-resisting behavior of Portland cement incorporated by oleic acid modified fly ash

The water-repellent and anti-permeability properties of cement are crucial for the durability and safety of concrete structures. In this work, we prepared a hydrophobic Portland cement by using oleic acid as a modifier for fly ash and examined the properties of the cement paste samples. Fly ash was firstly reacted with oleic acid by the dry milling method, and the modified fly ash was used to prepare the hydrophobic Portland cement. The IR spectra confirmed that the surface of fly ash was successfully capped with oleic acid, and carboxylic acid moieties were bonded with ≡SiOH and neutralized. The TG-DSC results showed that the amount of oleic acid loaded on the fly ash beads was 7.21 wt%. Fly ash dispersed evenly in the prepared cement paste samples and the distance between beads ranged in 2–10 μm. The water contact angle of the cement paste samples increased with rising content of modified fly ash, which demonstrated good water-repellent behavior. Different cement sections showed similar water-repellent behavior, which proved that the inner structure of the cement was also hydrophobic. Using the fly ash modified with oleic acid significantly decreased the water uptake and gas permeability of the prepared cement paste samples. The hydrophobic cement sample was optimal when the content of the modified fly ash in the cement was 12 wt% and after the cement was cured for 28 days.     

多孔壳微胶囊对硬化砂浆抗渗性的影响

采用原位聚合与水解缩聚法,以四乙氧基硅烷（TEOS）、环氧树脂（E51）、苯乙烯（St）等为主要原料,合成了一种二氧化硅多孔壳微胶囊（Porous silica shell microcapsules,PSSM）。分别采用SEM、FTIR、TGA对PSSM外观形貌、化学组分、核壳比进行表征。通过对掺加PSSM的砂浆试块进行80%抗压强度荷载预压、养护（浸水或干湿循环养护）处理后,运用交流阻抗法与压汞法研究了PSSM对硬化砂浆抗渗性与孔结构的影响规律。结果表明:制备的PSSM粒径约为10~100 μm,其含有聚苯乙烯网络支架、环氧树脂和聚硅氧烷囊芯,支架聚合物和多孔壳,核壳质量比为1.54。与未预压-养护处理的试块相比,经预压-养护处理后的空白试块的连通孔溶液电阻R_CH和扩散阻抗系数σ均降低,孔隙率升高,表明预压使试块内形成微裂纹缺陷,经养护仍未愈合,因此试块抗渗性降低;而对于掺加8% PSSM的试块,经预压-养护处理后其R_CH和σ均增加,孔隙率降低,表明试块抗渗性提高。这是由于PSSM的破壳-固化作用以及长期浸水或干湿循环养护,导致试块中PSSM发生了渗出-固化作用,封堵愈合了试块内的微裂隙,抗渗性得到提高。      

碱式硫酸镁水泥耐酸腐蚀性能研究

为了研究碱式硫酸镁水泥耐酸腐蚀性能,将不同配比的水泥试样分别在柠檬酸溶液及水中浸泡不同龄期,再进行质量变化测定及抗折强度和抗压强度试验。采用XRD与SEM技术分析不同配比水泥试样浸泡于两种溶液后的物相组成和显微形貌。结果表明,掺入的矿渣和粉煤灰对碱式硫酸镁水泥具有良好的密实填充作用,降低了水泥的孔隙率,有效阻止了侵蚀介质的进入,其耐酸腐蚀性能与未掺矿渣和粉煤灰的碱式硫酸镁水泥相比有明显提升,其中,掺矿渣的碱式硫酸镁水泥耐酸腐蚀性能更优。